"Paul Hart, Grizz Randall, and I drove up to the start at about 7:00 AM to get registered for the race and pick up our packets. There were a lot of runners we didn’t know, but many we did. This was my first formal Ultra of the season, and a great place to do it.
The start of the race was at 8:00 a.m. on a beautiful desert canyon jeep trail that worked its way up into the upper reaches of the plateau overlooking Moab and Arches National Park. The sky was crystal clear, the temperature in the 50s and the day was BEAUTIFUL. The first section of the course was a loop over the rough jeep road called Metal Masher. For a runner, it was pretty nice, but I sure wouldn’t want to have my car there. The view from the top of this loop overlooked the start of the race (with all these tiny little cars down there) as well as skyline arches and spires of Arches NP.
My back began to bother me again (a tree at Alta jumped me three years ago – not my fault) but with 800 mg of IB and a COX-2 inhibitor, I managed OK. After the Metal Masher loop and the third aid station, the course headed generally south to run three jeep trails in succession – Gold Bar, Golden Spike, and Poison Spider Mesa. After finishing the Gold Bar section and leaving the next aid station I began to realize that dehydration was not a good thing. Cramps, nausea (followed by a physiological condition best described with the adjective “projectile”) became the focus of my world for an hour. I decided that I would never run an ultra again. But, with water, salt, food and a bit of rest, I decided maybe life was not so bad after all. Paul Hart stayed with me though the whole incident and to the end of the race to keep me from jumping off the cliff and ending it all.
As
the Golden Spike trail came up and we ran that section of the course, I
was feeling much better and really enjoyed the scenery.
We began to encounter jeepers and ATVs on the trail and to a
person they were supportive and offered food and water.
We enjoyed seeing them and chatting as we LEFT THEM IN THE DUST. Jeeps can’t go in that country as fast and as
easy as a runner. Running shoes have to be
a lot cheaper than a 6-inch lift kit with lockers on a new jeep.
Soon
we left Golden Spike and started the Poison Spider mesa for the last
six mile segment of the run. It went very well with a lot of good
flat jeep road and lots of scenery. A bit of roack work, several
switch backs and we were suddenly at the finish, about 34 miles in
all. Paul stopped and let me cross first. What a guy - he
attended a sick runner instead of finishing an hour or two
earlier. "
John Moellmer
87.
John Moellmer,62, Salt Lake,UT 8:37:56
88. Paul Hart,59, Mt. Pleasant,UT
8:37:57
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"Just a
note about my weekend. Bev and I went
down for the Moab Red Hot 50 K+ and experienced enough adventure
to last the whole
year. First my Explorer went kaput on a dirt road (before we even
got into town) and wouldn't restart. As I called AAA for a rescue
tow my cell phone went bad (not just out of range, but broken cell
phone.) We were charged $50 for the 100 yards of dirt road tow
that AAA won't pay for and the Ford dealership in Moab couldn't look at
my car until Tuesday. So I found another shop that could look at
the car on Sat and had it towed there. Not wanting to impose on
our S.L. friends I rented a car and the $ continued to pile up.
Many Dots and Paul Hart and I rode out to the race start in John's new
Toyota Tacoma while Bev and Joan went for a hike in my rental
car. I made it to mile 12 before my left knee, which had been a
little sore since my back-to-back weekend 20-miler training runs on the
two previous weekends, stiffened up and got limpy painful. On a
downhill just before aid station #2, as the last of the pack went past
me, I make the decision to DNF for the first time in at least 10
years. The aid station volunteers kindly gave me a ride back to
town where I learned from the shop that they were having a heck of a
time finding the problem which was in the electrical system and they
suspected a part that they didn't have and couldn't get locally.
I drove the rental out to the finish area to meet John and Paul, since
they might not know that I had quit. When they hadn't come in by
4:30 I had to leave to talk to the mechanic (the shop closes at 5:00)
and tell him what to do with my Explorer. I hadn't yet even
DECIDED what to do with my Explorer, although I was entertaining some
dark thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he thought he
had found and fixed the problem even though it cost me an arm and my
remaining leg. On Sunday the Moellmers kindly followed us as far
as Price to be sure we didn't stall again. We got home OK and
unpacked the car and after calling T-Mobile to learn that my phone was
in fact defunct I set out to the phone store to buy a new one and the
Explorer stalled and wouldn't restart. As of this writing it is
sitting dead in my garage. I'm spending my President's Day with
my wrapped leg elevated while I go through the paper looking at Toyota
ads and wondering if my tax refund would be enough for a down
payment." Grizz
Click on the following link for full results: :
Moab
Red Hot 50 K + R
Planet Ultramarathon posted this article by Kris Lander:
Moab Red Hot 50 K+ report